The DCS280 is built to survive and thrive in the harsh environment of automotive maintenance and repair. Its wand-type thermoplastic rubber (TPR) grip and integral LCD are drop-resistant to a height of 1m (3.3 ft.). The system can be operated with one hand, leaving the other hand free to use tools.

The grip and LCD get their input from a camera-tipped probe. The DCS280 system’s standard probe is 1m (3.3 ft.) long and has a diameter of 9mm (0.35 in.), making it ideal for inspecting gasoline engine cylinders through the spark plug hole. Other general automotive applications include inspecting hard-to-reach or hard-to-see areas of the engine compartment or undercarriage.

The DCS280 has only five control buttons (power on/off, brightness up, brightness down, video zoom, and video flip), making it very easy to learn to use. Video within the probe’s field of view is displayed on a high-quality 2.4 in. (61mm) diagonal color LCD. Alternatively, video can be viewed on an NTSC-format television by plugging an included cable into a jack on the back of the grip.

The video zoom and flip functions make the DCS280 an even more valuable inspection tool. Doubling the size of any component in the video frame makes it less likely that any problem will be overlooked. The reason to invert video is to align the probe’s field of view with its real-world surroundings; in practical terms, this function makes it easier to read upside-down labels and serial numbers by flipping them right-side up.

The standard DCS280 system includes four accessories sized for the tip of the 9mm probe: a 45° mirror, a pickup hook, a magnetic pickup, and a thread protector (to be installed when no accessories are used).

The DCS280’s grip, probe and accessories are packaged in a hard plastic protective case along with this user’s manual and four “AA” batteries.